Like a left tackle and a right end, Carmelo Anthony and Arron Afflalo continuously slammed into one another during today’s Nuggets scrimmage. They pushed for position, banged bodies and talked trash. It was fun to watch.

“That’s my man,” Anthony said afterward of the ultra-competitive Afflalo.

While Melo waits to find out what potential trade Denver will cook up next, he is approaching scrimmages with playoff intensity, as is Afflalo, the blue-collar player who approaches even ping-pong with playoff intensity.

The two are making each other better, Chauncey Billups explained.

“They’ve got this unbelievable, friendly but competitive rivalry in practice,” the point guard said. “We’ve been having some very spirited scrimmages. It’s just great competition. It’s bragging rights, fun stuff, but it’s good.”

After Friday’s practice, coach George Karl complemented the “spirit” of the scrimmages. The North Carolina alum also pointed out that newcomer Shelden Williams, despite being a Dukie, is having a great camp.

“I would say Shelden has been one of the top-five players in camp right now,” Karl said of the power forward. “His basketball IQ is at a good level, and he kind of knows who he is more than the younger guys. He likes to play around the basket, he’s a physical guy who likes getting hit and doesn’t mind hitting people.”

Benjamin Hochman was a sports columnist for The Denver Post until August 2015 before leaving for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his hometown newspaper. Hochman previously worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Hochman wrote the Katrina-themed book “Fourth and New Orleans,” published in 2007.